By Russ Wiles | The Arizona Republic
Arizona and other Rocky Mountain states could see the nation’s strongest economic growth next year, supplanting Texas and other south-central states hurt by falling oil prices.
That’s the prediction from Standard & Poor’s Rating Services, which expects Arizona and seven other Mountain states to grow 3.13 percent next year, virtually unchanged from an expected 3.15 percent this year and up from 2.66 percent in 2014. Gains in the construction, high-tech and service sectors will help the region, including a projected 23 percent rise in housing starts in 2016.